When you’re trying to figure out how to look after yourself and your mental health, there’s a seemingly contradictory situation that you might run into fairly quickly – especially when dealing with relaxing with the activities you enjoy. The issue comes from enjoying activities that might not seem to be entirely healthy, such as going out and partying with your friends. The answer, as always, lies in moderation, but that doesn’t always solve the problem completely.
To complicate matters further, how you apply moderation depends on what you’re talking about, but relaxing with the activities you enjoy might be how you relax and blow off steam.
Going Out
So, using the primary example as a place to begin, how can you apply moderation here? While the positive impact to your mental health here could be doing what you enjoy and spending time with your friends, the negative side of things might come from the amount of money you spend or the after-effects of drinking on a night out. Limiting both of those things might initially sound like a way to limit the amount of fun you’re having, but you might find that it doesn’t quite correlate like that. In fact, getting into a state of mind where the focus is on relaxing with your friends can help the extra spending and indulgence to simply feel like an optional extra.
Playing Games
Alternatively, you might like to unwind by playing games. In theory, there might not be so much wrong with this, but if it’s getting to the point where you’re deferring your other responsibilities or playing for longer than you should be, you can start to feel a sense of guilt about not being productive. Sometimes, this feeling is unwarranted, and it might be about learning how to relax without it. Still, if it is interfering with other aspects of your life, it’s important that you try to schedule your time effectively – allowing for enough time to enjoy your gaming hobby without it being damaging.
It might be that the games you’re interested in are those found through internet gambling services. While it might seem totally different, the application of moderation remains the same, with the addition of money, however, it’s arguably more important to understand when to take a break and step away.
Eating
What some people look forward to most of all is food that they enjoy. Depending on what kind of food you find yourself drawn to, this won’t always be a problem. If you enjoy eating home-cooked meals, for example, this might not be costing you too much and could be healthier than a lot of what you eat out (depending on what it is, of course). However, if you like to treat yourself with fast food, you might find that keeping this more limited can be a blessing to your health, your financial situation, and even the novelty of the food when it comes around. These openings can allow you to explore other options, like the home-cooked suggestions, getting you into a new hobby and allowing you to discover new foods.
